FA Cup: De Bruyne returns in a 5-0 win for Man City. Ryan Reynolds' Wrexham advances
Sun, Jan 7, 2024
Soccer News (AP)
Kevin De Bruyne set up a goal on his return from injury after nearly five months out as Manchester City opened its FA Cup title defense with a 5-0 win over second-tier Huddersfield on Sunday.
There was also a victory in the third round for Wrexham, the fourth-tier club owned by Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds and with a strong tradition in the famous cup competition, while Premier League teams West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Luton were all held to draws at home by lower-division opponents.
De Bruyne hasn't played since sustaining a hamstring injury at Burnley on the opening day of the Premier League season on Aug. 11. The Belgium playmaker came on as a 57th-minute substitute - when City was 2-0 ahead - and provided the cross that fellow replacement Jeremy Doku converted for the final goal in a one-sided match at Etihad Stadium.
City manager Pep Guardiola welcome back a midfielder he described as "exceptional" and "unique."
"Kevin helps us to win games and there are few like him in the world," Guardiola said. "I'm pretty sure Kevin felt how our people are in love with him. This mutual respect will last forever."
Phil Foden scored twice, Julian Alvarez added another and there was an own-goal for City, which saw defender Manuel Akanji go off injured in the first half.
Erling Haaland was still deemed not fit enough to feature for City, but should be back soon to complement the returning De Bruyne and Doku as Pep Guardiola's team go for an unlikely repeat of its treble of major trophies won last season.
City is third in the Premier League, five points behind first-place Liverpool with a game in hand, and is through to the round of 16 in the Champions League.
"I know he can handle the pressure," Guardiola said of De Bruyne, "but I don't want to put all the pressure on Kevin's shoulders."
Wrexham won 1-0 at Shrewsbury, a local rival from a division higher in English soccer's pyramid, thanks to Tom O'Connor's second-half goal.
The buzz around Wrexham and its celebrity owners - Reynolds and fellow Hollywood actor Rob McElhenney - reached new levels during a cup run around this time last year when the team beat one second-tier Championship team in Coventry and then took another, Premier League-bound Sheffield United, to a replay. But promotion is the big goal this season for Wrexham, which is in third place in League Two.
In more surprising results, West Ham failed to hold onto a lead and drew 1-1 with second-tier Bristol City, Forest had to come from 2-0 down to draw with third-tier Blackpool 2-2 and another third-tier team, Bolton, held Luton 0-0.
Arsenal hosts Liverpool in the standout third-round match later Sunday.
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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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